- Very limited in production
- The detailing is second-to-none
COPO cars were not in the dealer brochures or advertised
“I’ve always loved that body style,” says the owner, on his pristine 1969 Chevrolet Malibu Sport Coupe. When this Chevy muscle car collector and fanatic found the car “for sale” a few years back, it didn’t take him but a few seconds to decide to purchase it. Why? Because it is an ultra-rare COPO (Central Office Production Order) 9566AA car.
This Tuxedo Black Chevelle came with the factory specified L72 427-cid big block engine as standard equipment rated conservatively at 425 horsepower @ 5600 rpm with 460 foot-pounds of torque @ 4400 rpm, with 4-speed transmission and 4.10:1 posi-traction rear end. Many car enthusiasts from the era didn’t know these were available, as they were not mentioned in the dealer brochures or advertised.
COPO Chevelles were very limited in production volume, but savvy buyers that went to “in the know” Chevrolet dealers were able to purchase them. A COPO ordering number meant that the factory had already authorized the building of a certain car with special equipment.
Rare? Yes, no question about that! It is believed that only three such black-hued COPO Chevelles were built, with two of those being automatic transmission cars, making this the “one of one” 4-speed car on the planet. And with factory NC8 chambered exhaust with no traditional mufflers, it’s an extraordinary vehicle.
The car has the build sheets, listing these items to back up these facts. No wonder he jumped at the chance to buy the car when he did. He had already done his homework on these COPO Chevelles long before he laid eyes on this extremely rare example. He had learned that by ordering the car using the 9566AA COPO code number, it meant the deletion of a L78-396/375 engine and the addition of the more potent L72 427 and a Harrison extra-capacity radiator.
427s were very serious performance engines
Some could say he was lucky to find this car; however, luck is when opportunity meets preparation and for certain, this Arizona-based collector knew exactly what he was looking at when the chance came to purchase this truly historical Chevrolet muscle car.
What made the L72 so special? First off it came with;
- 11.0:1 compression pistons
- heavy-duty rods
- forged crank
- 4-bolt mains
- a solid-lifter .520-inch lift camshaft measured at 0.050 lift
- 2.19-inch diameter intake valves
- 1.72-inchdiameter exhaust valves fill the free-breathing rectangular port heads.
A high-rise aluminum intake manifold uses a 780-cfm dual feed/single pump Holley four-barrel carburetor, fed from a single 3/8-inch fuel line. Also, part of the package were deep-groove pulleys to deal with the higher-than-normal rpms these special engines operated in. 425-hp 427s were very serious performance engines and highly respected both on the street and the strip.
Records indicate that in total, 323 COPO Chevelles were produced during the 1969 model year run. This number includes 99 that became “Yenko” versions featuring stripes and various markings proclaiming it to be a unique high-performance car that boulevard cruisers would have no problem spotting from a distance.
Conversely, the standard COPO Chevelle as shown here didn’t have any outside markings relating to engine size, and it wasn’t until you heard those solid lifters and the awesome tone of the exhaust that you realized this was one mean “sleeper "built for pure performance.
The car came factory with “YA” sport wheels, 7-inches wide and “PL5” RWL raised white lettered F-70 x 14 tires, as listed on build sheet.
How quick was an L72-equipped Chevelle?
First pass down the quarter mile was a late-afternoon, fairly mild “get acquainted” run, shifting at 5000 rpm, with the clocks reading 13.85 seconds at 103.68 mph. Next, the runs were done coming out at near idle for about 50 feet then punching the accelerator, causing “unmerciful things” to the tires (as the writer described) then running in the range of 13.83 to 13.87 at 102.97-103.92 mph.
The magazine test car is an accurate example as to how this featured Arizona COPO car would perform, as it has similar equipment. This black version with its free-flow exhausts and the lighter bench seat instead of the heavier buckets as used on the Yenko test car should be a tad quicker in fact!
In recent years the car has also seen fine-tuning detail work with partial restoration work, intense verification work and restoration services. The detailing done on this car is second-to-none and it can be used as an excellent example on how to properly restore a 1969 COPO Chevelle.
Today, the car is in flawless condition and underwent a complete restoration some 10 years ago. That “frame-off” resto was done after approximately four years of searching for NOS (New Old Stock) parts and pieces for the project.
